Unlock your potential with Magnifier

Filmmakers looking to make the most of their ideas will have an opportunity to do so through Ffilm Cymru Wales’ fifth Magnifier event.

Held at the Urdd, Cardiff Bay on 29th September, the three sessions are open to all, providing an opportunity to explore how to effectively reach audiences and maximize revenues, including from the broader realisation of wider media, arts and education assets.

Magnifier is how we work. It's an approach designed to help filmmakers identify and build their audiences and revenue steams. And we start this work from the earliest stages of a project's development. Find out more about Magnifier here.

Tickets are available for individual sessions at £5 each, or all three sessions plus lunch for £20. Book your tickets here.

10.00 – 11.30

Session 1: Festival Hack

Whether you’re looking to raise finance for a project in development or sowing the seeds for selection in the programme, festivals and markets remain a key marker for the success of your feature film or documentary.

Alice Cabanas, Film Programme Manager at the British Council, provides an overview of the key film festivals; what they mean to the market and why you should develop your festival strategy early. Greg Martin, Acquisitions and distribution executive, presents a download of this year’s Toronto Film Festival, providing Embankment Films' insight into the kind of projects making waves at the festival and the deals that were done at one of the most important launch pads in the film industry calendar.

12:00 – 13:00

Session 2: Writing winning creative pitches - the Devil in the Data

Demographic data has transformed the way filmmakers such as Eli Roth pitch for investment, develop ideas and market their work. Yet resistance to bringing science into storytelling abides. Film and VR producer Uzma Hasan (The Infidel), and multimedia producer and Senior Lecturer at UWE Bristol Judith Aston reveal why data should be every creative’s best friend.

13:00 – 14:00

Lunch

14:00 – 15:00

Session 3: How to bring your audience with you during film development.

Director Philip Clemo (The Air Still Holds on My Breath), Producer Rob Alexander (Gary Numan: Android in La La Land) and Gabriella Gilkes Science Programme Manager at the Eden Project talk through their partnership on the feature documentary Breath: Journeys through the Landscapes of Life. A collaboration between five UK universities, Breath has been showcased at the V & A and the Eden Project, been the subject of a TEDx and formed the backdrop for a live music performance, all whilst still in development.

The panel, chaired by Cat Cooper, will explore the team’s iterative development process, exploring the challenges and great rewards of cross-sector collaboration.